Synopsis

Act 1

On a radiant summer morning in Indian Territory not long
after the turn of the century, Aunt Eller sits on her porch churning butter
and looking out over her farmstead. Curly, a local ranch hand, comes to
call. Curly and Eller's niece, Laurey, have a lot in common - both are
equally smitten with the other, and both are too proud and stubborn to
admit it. When Curly grandly offers to take Laurey to the box social that
evening, Laurey claims that he can't escort her in style and refuses to
believe that he has rented a classy rig for the occasion. Jud Fry, Laurey's
hired hand, settles the matter by announcing that he will take her to
the social and because she is scared of Jud, who has a morose, vindictive
temperament, she is too frightened to turn him down. Curly invites Aunt
Eller to ride with him.

Laurey's friend, Ado Annie, is caught between two fellows too. Will Parker
has just returned from Kansas City where he earned $50 in a rodeo - the
exact sum Ado Annie's father, Andrew Carnes, told Will he had to come
up with if he wanted to marry her. However, during Will's absence Ado
Annie has become transfixed by the Persian peddler man, Ali Hakim, whose
sales pitches always leave her swooning. Ado Annie may not know which
way to turn but her father does: Will, since he already spent the $50
on wedding gifts for Annie and technically no longer has the cash, has
lost his chance at marriage - while Ali Hakim has been so forward with
Annie that nothing short of a shotgun wedding will do!

Laurey is confused about her love for Curly, and about Jud, of whom she
is terrified, but has used his invitation just to make Curly jealous.
After a short reconciliation between the two, Curly goes to see Jud in
his smokehouse. Curly paints a beautiful picture of just how popular Jud
would be - at his own funeral and there is an angry confrontation about
Laurey. Feeling mocked, alone now in his room, Jud confronts himself,
his lonely fantasies, his bleak existence that fills him with anger and
violence.

Laurey still wants to clear her mind between Curly and Jud. Her girl
friends ridicule her and offer their own homely advice; she drifts into
a dream - a ballet sequence in which she is to marry Curly, but he is
killed by Jud, who abducts her. As she wakens, both men arrive, and Jud
hauls her off to the party, leaving Curly dejected.

Act II

At the box social that night lots of
men bid for Laurey's hamper but, as the bidding rises, so does the tension
as Jud and Curly square off. Curly sells his saddle, his horse and then
even his gun to raise enough cash to buy the hamper and the right to escort
Laurey, which frustrates and angers Jud. When Jud corners Laurey in the
barn later on, her frightened calls for help bring Curly to her side.
Jud runs off, and finally, Laurey and Curly confess their love for each
other. Ali Hakim, still trying to manoeuvre his way out of marrying Ado
Annie, contrives to bid $50 for all the gifts Will bought in Kansas City.
With cash in hand, and a few rules in mind, Will approaches Ado Annie
again, and this time they set the date.

Three weeks later, Laurey and Curly are married. Gertie Cummings,
an annoying flirt who couldn't get her hands on Curly, has managed
to also snare a husband - Ali Hakim. Will and Ado Annie are hitched
as well and everyone is celebrating. The wedding festivities pall,
however, when Jud Fry stumbles in, uninvited, unwelcome and drunk.
He gets into a fight with Curly and, in the ensuing melée, the drunken Jud falls on
his own knife and is killed. Curly's friends don't want him to have to
spend his wedding night in jail and so, a trial is quickly held on the
spot and Curly is acquitted. With their friends and loved ones waving
them on, Curly and Laurey drive off on their honeymoon, "in a surrey with
the fringe on top".

Characters

AUNT ELLER - A middle-aged down-to-earth 'mother to everyone'. She is
Laurey's aunt and confidante, and has a very friendly personality.

CURLY - The young cowman in love with Laurey. His heart is in the
right place and he is strong in facing up to Jud.

LAUREY - Our heroine. She is confused about Curly and seems always
to be waiting for him to make the first move; she is too innocent
to see that her acceptance of Jud's invitation will mean trouble.

IKE SKIDMORE - A ranch-house cowman.

SLIM,
FRED - Cowman friends of Ike and Curly's.

WILL PARKER - A hapless young cowman who is very much in love with Annie.
He has a pleasant happy-go-lucky disposition, but needs to assert
himself strongly to get her full attention.

JUD FRY - The hired hand on Laurey's farm. Sullen, mysterious and dangerous.
Nobody likes him and he lives a lonely depressive existence in the
smokehouse, dreaming broodily of real women, not the pin-ups on
the walls.

ADO ANNIE - A flirtatious girl who cannot resist any man, particularly
if a wedding ring is in prospect.

ALI HAKIM - A Persian peddler and a shrewd salesman. A great one for
the girls, but not too adept at avoiding shotguns!

GERTIE - Another flirt whose presence is always announced by her ear-piercing
laugh. Like Annie, she just wants to get married to someone.

ELLEN, KATE, SYLVIE,ARMINA, AGGIE - A group of fun-loving farmer's daughters who form the ensemble
at the Box Social and the ballet at the end of Act One.